This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the present invention, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
Powered injectors are typically utilized to administer a volume of medical fluid, such as a contrast agent, into a patient before and/or while the patient is examined with imaging equipment. Generally, an electric motor in the powered injector is utilized to move a plunger of a syringe through the syringe, and the medical fluid is injected into the patient due the movement of the plunger. Frequently, the patient is examined with an imaging device (e.g., an MRI system), and detected contrast agent in the patient is utilized by the imaging device in generating image data.
Unfortunately, many powered injectors are incompatible with certain types of imaging equipment. For example, electric motors used to drive powered injectors often include magnets and/or ferrous materials that can interfere with operation of an MRI machine. For instance, due to the presence of magnets and/or ferrous material in the injector, the injector may be drawn toward and/or pulled into the MRI machine, thus causing potential risk of injury to the patient and/or damage to the injector and/or MRI machine. As another example, electromagnetic fields from the injector's electric motor may be picked up by the MRI machine and cause undesired artifacts in the resulting images produced by the MRI machine.